Tanner Hudson can always hang his hat on the 352 yards he posted during the 2023 season for the Cincinnati Bengals, but those days are very much in the past.
Hudson is no higher than fourth on the Bengals' depth chart at tight end six weeks into the 2024 season. He's only played four snaps since he fumbled away a touchdown in Week 1 . Part of that is due to a knee injury that took him out for three weeks, but in the last two weeks in which he's been healthy, he was a healthy scratch for one game, and saw the field very briefly in the other.
The Bengals' offense likes to use multiple tight ends every week, but Hudson just can't see the field or simply isn't trusted to do so. Players like that usually don't have any trade value, so if the Bengals can get anything for him, they should very much consider making a call.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell suggested a trade between the Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles in which the Bengals would receive a 2026 sixth-round pick in exchange for Hudson. The Bengals receive draft capital for a player they don't use, and the Eagles get a player with past starting experience to help compensate for the recent injury to Dallas Goedert.
"Twenty-nine-year-old tight ends with limited track records of production aren't going to transform an offense, but Hudson could be a reliable pair of hands in an offense that uses multi-tight end sets. The Eagles were using 12 personnel on a league-high 33.6% of their snaps before Dallas Goedert went down because of a hamstring injury Sunday, which is expected to cost him time. Philly has opened up Albert Okwuegbunam's window to return from injured reserve, but the former Broncos tight end hasn't been able to stay on the field as a pro; he has played in 12 games since the start of the 2022 season. Hudson might be a way for the Eagles to survive a month without their top tight end." - ESPN's Bill Barnwell
It would be a short-term fix for the Eagles, but receiving any draft pick for Hudson would be a win for the Bengals.
Along with his early season miscue and injury, Hudson hasn't seen the field because of how healthy Cincinnati's other tight ends have been. Erick All Jr. looks great coming off his knee injury from college, Drew Sample is chugging along, and Mike Gesicki works as a TE3 behind both of them.
Gesicki and Hudson were always going to have very similar roles in this offense when they saw the field, but again, only Gesicki is playing out of the two of them. Hudson is essentially waiting in the wings in case something unexpected happens.
Having Hudson as a contingency for a Gesicki injury would be the Bengals' reasoning for not conducting this trade. It's why they both made the 53-man roster in the first place. But how much of a drop off is there from Hudson to the guy who's below him?
Tanner McLachlan was one of Cincinnati's two sixth-round picks from this year's NFL Draft. He's been a healthy scratch for every week this season, but showed promise during the preseason. McLachlan is under contract for four years while Hudson will enter free agency this offseason. Giving the rookie some on-field development when the time comes should pay off for the future.
The Bengals hardly ever think in proactive ways such as this, but if a trade like Barnwell's suggestion becomes a possibility, there's minimal downside to the Bengals making the call.
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